title: Spatial analysis of air pollution and mortality in California.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although substantial scientific evidence suggests that chronic exposure to ambient air pollution contributes to premature mortality, uncertainties exist in the size and consistency of this association. Uncertainty may arise from inaccurate exposure assessment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the associations of three types of air pollutants (fine particulate matter, ozone [O3], and nitrogen dioxide [NO2]) with the risk of mortality in a large cohort of California adults using individualized exposure assessments.
  
  
  METHODS
  For fine particulate matter and NO2, we used land use regression models to derive predicted individualized exposure at the home address. For O3, we estimated exposure with an inverse distance weighting interpolation. Standard and multilevel Cox survival models were used to assess the association between air pollution and mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data for 73,711 subjects who resided in California were abstracted from the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention II Study cohort, with baseline ascertainment of individual characteristics in 1982 and follow-up of vital status through to 2000. Exposure data were derived from government monitors. Exposure to fine particulate matter, O3, and NO2 was positively associated with ischemic heart disease mortality. NO2 (a marker for traffic pollution) and fine particulate matter were also associated with mortality from all causes combined. Only NO2 had significant positive association with lung cancer mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using the first individualized exposure assignments in this important cohort, we found positive associations of fine particulate matter, O3, and NO2 with mortality. The positive associations of NO2 suggest that traffic pollution relates to premature death.
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, USA. jerrett@berkeley.edu
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jerrett
authors.forename: Richard T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Burnett
authors.forename: Bernardo S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Beckerman
authors.forename: Michelle C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Krewski
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thurston
authors.forename: Randall V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Donkelaar
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Yuanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gapstur
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Thun
authors.forename: C Arden
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Pope
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000009:adverse effects; D010126:Ozone / Q000009:adverse effects; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000009:adverse effects; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D010126:Ozone; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide